RANCHO CORDOVA, CA – The 2019 Hangtown Amateur Shootout, held in conjunction with the Hangtown Motocross Classic, took place on May 15-16-17 at Prairie City OHV in Cordova, California, as 545 entries making up 34 classes did battle for $20,000 in prizes and contingency. The race provided some of the fastest amateurs in the country an opportunity to compete on the same course as the top professionals in the world.
Heavy rains leading up to the race made for slippery conditions, however the Dirt Diggers North Motorcycle Club did an amazing job of maintaining a raceable course during the two days of racing. Moto One for all classes ran on Thursday, while Moto Two was held on Friday, with professional racing taking over on Saturday.
Perhaps the most impressive performance of the weekend belonged to KTM/Orange Brigade/Red Bull’s Max Vohland, who won the Supermini and Schoolboy (12-16) classes. The 16-year-old from Granite Bay, California dominated both classes, posting perfect 1-1 moto finishes in each. Vohland was one of the few who didn’t have a problem with the mud.
“I’ve actually been practicing mud riding so I was excited when I found out it was going to be muddy at Hangtown,” said Vohland.
Finishing second in the Supermini class was Benjamin Garib with a 2-2 tally, while fellow KTM rider Mikey Durden was third with a 5-5 finish.
William Riordan (KTM) was second overall behind Vohland in the Schoolboy (12-16) division with a 3-2 moto score. Meanwhile, Hunter Cross rounded out the podium with a 2-4 performance.
51FIFTY Energy Drink/Wienerschnitzel/FLY Racing’s Hunter Cross parlayed a pair of runner-up finishes into a win in the FMF 2-Stroke Challenge class. In the first moto, Cross grabbed the lead and began to pull a gap on the field, however when he ran into lappers one of them fell in a rut in front of him, leaving Cross nowhere to go.
“I had to stop and lift my bike out of the rut to get around the lapper and by the time I did that I got passed and ended up second for the moto,” said Cross.
Angus Riordan (KTM) was able to capitalize on Cross’ misfortune to take the first moto win, with Brian Kody Deruyter (Yam) finishing third behind Cross.
In the second moto, Cross got another strong start, this time finishing second behind Ray, with Deruyter in third.
In the end, Cross’ 2-2 performance was good enough for the overall victory, with Ray finishing second with a 4-1 moto score. Detroiter’s 3-3 was good enough for third.
“I never ride the mud so I was really excited about getting the win,” said Cross. “It was a real mud-fest and I’m very happy with how I rode because the track was so challenging.”
Norcal Motorsports’ KTM’s Tyler DuCray beat out Florida KTM rider Brandon Moore to win the 250A Prosport class, as Ducray’s 1-2 moto finishes trumped Moore’s 3-1 performance to claim the overall victory. Bryson Olsen was third overall after finishing 4-3.
“I was third off the line in the first moto, but I was able to get into the lead right away,” said Ducray. “I didn’t make any mistakes so I was able to hold on for the win. In the second moto, I got a second place start behind Moore and I knew he was third in the first moto so I knew if I just followed him to the finish I could wrap up the overall.”
Star Racing Yamaha’s Jarett Frye made short work of the Collegeboy class, winning both motos to take the overall ahead of Tyler Uenaka’s (Hsq) 3-2 and Lucas Lamborn’s (Yam) 3-2.
Nathan Miles (Yam) went 1-1 to win the 450A Pro-Sport ahead of KTM-mounted Brandon Moore’s 2-2 and John Roggero (Yam) in third with 5-3 finishes.
Landon Gordon swept the 65 Open class with perfect 1-1 moto finishes to take the win ahead of Husqvarna-mounted Layne Redding (5-3) with KTM-mounted Wyatt Harrington finishing third (6-4). Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Brandon Ray won the 500cc 2-Stroke (351cc+ air or water-cooled, disc or drum brake) class, also with a perfect 1-1 performance. Honda-mounted Cliff Cook was second overall with a 2-2 tally.
MX Sports Pro Racing’s expanded amateur racing program for the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship allows competitors from all over the country to race during a National weekend at all 12 rounds on the schedule, which will undoubtedly help the continued growth of the amateur racing component of the world’s most prestigious off-road motorcycle racing series.
For information about the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, please visit ProMotocross.com
